Song of Heroes IC

[Absolon-7]

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Roxana Ma'gonid

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Roxana grimaced at Syl snapping at her clutching the disc to her chest, "Sorry, will give a warning next time."

This rashness wasn't fitting for her but the mystery of this predicament was nagging at her to get it solved. She couldn't afford to screw up on such a high profile contract but perhaps being more methodical would save her from aggravating her friends here. She turned over the disc to inspect and its finely carved grooves ran along its perimeter and one side had a thing notch for possibly some sort of connection.

"How odd," whispered Roxana until her attention was caught by Syl and Mir's ruckus behind her. She walked towards them in a hurry only catching a hint of what happened, "Wait what? You can't see?"

"Could you hold this I need to examine, Mir", Roxana raised her hand to Syl so she could take the disc. She placed her ungloved hand on Mir's forehead, "Can you feel my hand? Are any other senses like taste or touch missing?"

Meanwhile upstairs Siegfried tried looking at the immense stone door more closely. Thanks to the darkness it was hard to see but there where five very deep notches along a raised circle at the center of the door. He walked away for a bit before glancing at a nearby table and finding a lamp that had almost gone out. He muddled around with the instruments until he found a beaker of oil to refuel it. Returning to the stone door with a new light he could now make out that the raised circle was a map of the continent. Frey's reappearance with a map was his eureka moment as the dots finally connected.

"My boy! This might be the the key to all this! See how these notches match up with the four directions on the map! That blasted wizard probably had somebody else search for those places!" proudly Siegfried slapped his chestplate as if to congratulate himself on his conclusion, "Wonderful detective work, laddie!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Sylanna nodded at the shorter elf and took the disk into her free hand, watching as Roxana walked over to examine Mir's condition. The idea that any given object within this place could be booby trapped to take away someone's senses was worrying, but the priestess seemed calm, at least. Perhaps eerily so.

Feeling Roxana's touch and hearing her questions, Mircella let out an amused giggle. "Yes, I can feel your hand and hear your voice, Roxana. If I couldn't, then I wouldn't have been able to respond to Sylanna's questions, let alone continue standing upright, don't you think?" She replied softly.

Meanwhile, the blonde elf noticed something odd. As she held the contents of Mircella's box in one hand and the disk Roxana had found in the other, she saw that they began to glow when in close proximity. Intrigued by this, the knight began moving them closer together until at last they let out a dazzling glow and joined together into a singular disk with intricate engravings. Sylanna was more than a little surprised, but after a moment she looked up.

"Roxana? Do you know what this is?" The young woman asked her friend, holding up the disc for her to see.

Upstairs, Frey listened attentively to Siegfried's tirade, raising an eyebrow at how he had somehow concluded all of that from an old map and some statues. He wasn't quite skeptical of it, as he had been in his fair share of interesting ruins during his time in the Archipelago, not to mention his adventures in the Paean Legion - the abandoned mine and the sunken church immediately came to mind - but it was still quite a leap of logic in his opinion.

Still, as he gave it some thought, things did seem to match up well enough. "So what, the old man had those places raided to retrieve some artifact or other? And now we have to find them in this dusty old ruin and put them here to continue our mission?" He asked the older adventurer.

[Absolon-7]

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Roxana Ma'gonid

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"Well there's other senses besides those," retorted Roxana blushing furiously in embarrassment, "Like your sense of time. An hour for us could've become a minute for you. But your wit tells me your fine sans your vision."

Roxana pulled away from as the glowing object in Syl's hands captivated her. Observing it closely the light was strong but there was a clear difference in where it came from as the top was dimmer in its brilliance then the bottom. Roxana reached towards to trace the metal object from the disc on top to the where the cylinder shape began jutting out. She could feel intricate grooves obscured by the light and the cylinder itself but it did not tell her much of its purpose.

"Might be a key, ornament, or something like that. It was clearly important enough to be hidden in the wall and split up," mused Roxana. With one member of their party impaired there wasn't much else they could do here in the ruined mess, "Well better to keep it safe somewhere. We might need it. Let's go meet up with the boys maybe they've found more information."

"Come on Mir," she said offering her hand to Mir by grazing her wrist, "Wouldn't be safe to let you walk unguided. Unless you have some spell to help."

Meanwhile upstairs, Siegfried gave a hefty pat on the back to Frey which was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic, "Precisely my boy, precisely. Is it a stretch? Oh absolutely! But where there's some there's fire so we're bound to find something. Plus there's the matter of those undead dogs. Someone didn't want us here at the center of the map so I doubt they'll want us to the remaining spots."

He paced back away from the stone door to better get a view of it humming to himself, "Call it a hunch in my gut but I bet a swine's arse we'll get some nasty critters again if we go. I could also call in a contact to doublecheck one of the already cleared spots but that can come later. For now it seems the closest spot is Piketown. If we hire a riverboat we could get there in no time...Actually aren't you from there my boy?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Hearing Roxana's assessment and her suggestion to meet up with the rest of the party, Syl nodded at her friend. At this point there was clearly not much else of interest in this dilapidated ruin that was, apparently, the home of a sorcerer, so meeting up, sharing intel and figuring out where to go from here seemed like the more productive alternative. With that in mind, the elven knight once again took point as she headed towards the stairs that led to the second floor, still wary of any undead creatures or other horrors, arcane or otherwise, that might attempt to prey upon them during their here.

Mircella, still robbed of her sight, turned to follow in the direction of Sylanna's footsteps, her plate boots making a distinct sound as she walked, but before she could move, she felt Roxana's hand grazing her wrist and listened to her words. "Oh, no. No spells that help with that, unfortunately. I suppose I could plant a seed of darkness in your mind to see through your eyes but that wouldn't be very pleasant for anyone involved. Oh but don't worry, I have some experience moving around blindfolded. Though holding hands is never a bad idea, in any case." The priestess of the Laughing Wolf spoke with grace and good cheer as she took the elf's hand and followed her lead. A few paces ahead, Sylanna tried to ignore the smallest tinge of jealousy she felt.

Upstairs, Frey raised an eyebrow as he listened to the old man go on another rambling, surprising him by stating not that they had to find the treasures that the sorcerer had retrieved from those places, but rather, that they had to go retrieve those treasures themselves because they likely weren't here. A subversion of his expectations to be sure, and he still wasn't completely certain of how Siegfried had reached that conclusion, but his hunches were likely well nurtured by years of experience, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to listen.

"Piketown eh? Well no, not exactly. I come from a fishing village in a small island just off the coast of Piketown, but I'm well acquainted with the place regardless. Had a good number of flings and adventures there." The blond rogue stated, fondly reminiscing of such simpler times.

Suddenly, however, a call from the hallway took him away from his reminiscence.

"Siegfried! Frey! Where are you?" Sylanna called out as she looked through the various empty rooms the two men had been to earlier.

"Over here!" Frey shouted back. After a few moments, the door creaked open and the blond knight walked into the room.

"Ah, there you are. We found this thing." She stated as she held up the strange glowing cylinder key ornament thing she had put together from the pieces found by Roxana and Mircella. "How about you two? Find anything of value here?" She inquired afterwards. Frey nodded.

"We've discovered that the next part of our quest is a wild cross-continent McGuffin chase."

Sylanna stared blankly at him for a moment.

"My thoughts exactly." The rogue quipped.

[Absolon-7]

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Roxana Ma'gonid

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"Tally ho, my boy and girl!" boomed Siegfried as he went to the side of Syl and Frey to give them a hefty pat on the back, "Best we depart now before whatever ruined the place comes back anyways. To the town of Pikes!"

"Calm down you ham. It's still gonna take us a bit to even get to a river ferry service to get to Piketown. No point in guffawing about it," sighed Roxana as she led the way with Mir's hand in hers, "But you're right. Let's go guys. Hopefully Mir's vision comes back by then."

"Excuse me?" questioned Siegfried leaning over a bit to much towards her.

"Yeah she got blinded by some booby trap," she said giving a swift head tilt at the white haired girl.

"Blimey lassie!" shouted Siegfried as he panned over to Mircella holding up his gauntlet covered pinkie to her, "Quick how many fingers am I holding up little lassie!"

Roxana groaned at Sieg messing around but there was no stopping him. She sighed as she mulled over this contract's circumstances. No good information only guesses, a possibly dead client, and now a disabled sorcerer. This couldn't get any worse now could it?

A little while later the group would make their way down the mansion's hilly slope once more and towards the nearest river ferry they could hire. It would take a few days to reach Piketown but the rest from constant marching was well earned in Roxana's mind. The ferry ride went without incident and once they where nearly at Piketown at dusk settled on the land she was surprised to see what appeared to be fireworks off in the distance. She wondered what they were for but as the ferry moored at the settlement's harbor a grand display of festival decorations and merry-making greeted the party. The town's populace was out in the usual stalls and crowds of festivals but nearly all harbored decorated porcelain masks and fancy costumes as they enjoyed themselves at the festival. In the town's tallest structure, a dazzling auburn and white light shined like a perpetual firework. Roxana was the first to hop off the ferry's steps as she held out her hand for Mir to latch on to.

"Looks like we arrived at the time of some festival. Good less prying eyes for when we check out the landmark crossed out on the map," said Roxana diligently.

"A few moments in town and already thinking of business?" inquired Siegfried as his mass hopped off the ferry.

"No we are not partying," said Roxana sternly. As some of the ferry workers got Methuselah off a ramp on the ship and handed his reins back to her she rummaged through one of the bags on him and got out the map. Looking over the details was frustrating in the dim light but the red ink over the supposed landmark was enough to see a caricature of a large tower sized where Piketown would be. At the very lest the first hint was obvious but she couldn't shake the feeling that this festival was quite on time for their arrival.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

As the party arrived at the port of Piketown along with the sunset, Sylanna looked up at the sky in wonder, mesmerized by the blazing streaks that ascended only to explode in a bright shower of multicolor lights as they reached the zenith of their flight, a glimmer of color reflecting on the entranced elf's clear eyes. Up in the snow-covered lands of northern Anthem, gunpowder wasn't plentiful and displays like these were only a distant rumor, heard about in tales from traders and adventurers. Perhaps one day, when she returned to her beloved Issgard, she would be one of those adventurers who told children stories.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mircella spoke up as she saw the usually composed knight so mesmerized by the flamboyant display.

"Yes, very." Sylanna replied softly, a smile on her face as she turned to look at her companion. "So you can see now?"

"Indeed I can. Thankfully whatever hex was placed upon me was only temporary. Otherwise it would have been rather embarrassing to explain the situation to my family upon my return to the Rosen Vale." The white-haired priestess replied with a chuckle. Sylanna wasn't sure what to make of it, but at any rate it was good to see her questmate so cheerful. As the ferry came to a stop, the two women stepped onto land, followed by a very confused rogue.

"What in the great blue sea is all this?" Frey questioned as he saw an unknown festival taking place in a city he had known practically like the back of his hand during the years he spent traveling the high seas in the crew of the Maelstrom, and later as a pirate hunter. Needless to say, he was very puzzled.

Just a few paces away, Sylanna approached Roxana as the latter looked over the map that was their guide in this cross-continent quest. "Hm, do you think we should check out that building where the white light shines?" She wondered out loud, quickly putting two and two together. "If so, I think we should get to it and head straight over. If we find whatever it is that we need to find and finish this part of our mission quickly enough, perhaps we'll have some time to enjoy the local festivities before moving on." The elven knight said with a smile, a small hint of excitement on her voice.

[Absolon-7]

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Roxana Ma'gonid

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"Wonderful idea lassie!" exclaimed Siegfried at Syl's idea patting her on the back, "I say if we put one-hundred--and-ten percent of our effort into this I do say we can have our cake and eat it too with all the festival going we can enjoy."

Truth be told Siegfried was slightly confused at this festival. He didn't venture to this part of the world often but he knew enough to recognize the more well known festivities, rituals, and holidays but something this elaborate was not within his memory. It was peculiar no doubt but that was never a reason to not enjoy yourself. He had the upmost confidence in this group that they'd make short work of any obstacle in their way. In a way he was quite happy this younger generation of Legionnaires was proving itself quite capable.

"Well let's go see how far we can get to the tower before we go in circles. Tally ho!" cheered Siegfried as he marched onward.

Roxana on the other hand moved close to Frey viewing the festival with suspicion as she closed up the map and hid it on her person.

"Something wrong Frey? I'm not familiar with Piketown like you are so I guess something weird is going on..." sibilated Roxana.

Hopefully he had some sort of insight into this festival, perhaps a meaning or purpose behind it as it seemed quite odd with her. There wasn't anything that immediately off but the way people spoke and laughed amongst themselves with their still white masks...it just seemed hollow. This rationale seemed bizarre to her but it made perfect sense in a way. Unfortunately her eyes caught Siegfried wandering off because of course he would.

"Get back here you ham!" she shouted running for him.

His large size and unique armor would usually stand out like a sore thumb but the man had made a turn into a main street of the city which was clogged with people in their ornate outfits and stalls, kiosks, and other temporary establishments. The rich aroma of food was tantalizingly strong in her nose almost too strong and the dazzling lights strung all around were dazingly enticing to her eyes. Maybe Siegfried and Syl were on to something about enjoying themselves. Wait no. They had to get to the shining tower. She shook her head and upon focusing her eyes through the plaza she spotted Siegfried chugging down a large glass of frothy beer. Roxana rushed towards him before tugging at his neck making him spill the beer over his chestplate.

"Very funny skipping out on the work, Sieg," she scoffed.

"On the contrary my dear. Why I got a fellow to tell me how to get to the tower. Isn't that right whatsyourname?" said Siegfried as he moved a man slumped over a bench in a drunken stupor, "Ah well. Drunken he may have been but he was quite a blabber mouth. Well in any case follow me into the night."

"You..you...oh I can't believe you," growled Roxana indignant at his attitude. She sighed before hopping on top of the bench to look over the plaza waving over at Frey, Mir, and Syl to come over.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Sylanna grinned proudly as Siegfried expressed approval at her suggestion. With the help of such a veteran legionnaire she was sure they'd be able to complete this part of the quest in no time, which bode well for their chances to spend some time partaking in the festivities afterwards. She did admire Roxanna's work ethic and the way it drove her to complete her objectives efficiently, but the long years she spent in the service of Issgard had made her appreciate every little bit of respite, as well. Regardless, for now they simply had to make their way to the building that housed the strange light.

Trailing behind Siegfried as the others remained behind for a bit, Sylanna failed in keeping track of the gold cloak's whereabouts, unable to follow him through the ebb and flow of the surrounding crowds. In an attempt to get away from them, she tried to move closer to one of the stalls lining the streets of Piketown's center, and as she sought refuge there, she found herself mesmerized by the rich scent of the food that was sold there.

Frey, meanwhile, turned to Roxana as she approached. "Something weird is definitely going on, my friend. I've been to this place many a time in the past and never before had I seen this festival. I suppose it's not out of the question that it's simply a new fad, but..." He trailed off as he pondered the possibility, though the idea that something so seemingly large had popped up so recently was unlikely. As he turned to look at Roxana, however, she seemed to have left already, leaving him to wonder not just where this festival had come from, but also where his questmates were.

"Come on, let's keep moving. No point in staying glued to the floor even if you don't know where to go." Mircella said from behind him as she grabbed his hand and began leading him somewhere, though judging by her words, she didn't actually have a direction in mind.

Fortunately for them, soon enough they spotted Roxana waving at them and made their way towards the High Elf. A few moments later, Sylanna also emerged from the crowd, approaching from a different direction. "Roxana, there you are! You have to try this." She said with a smile on her face as she offered the green-haired woman a caramel apple on a stick, her other hand holding one that was already half-eaten.

[Absolon-7]

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Roxana Ma'gonid

---

Thoughtlessly Roxana munched down on the caramel apple offered to her and was pleasantly surprised at how scrumptious it was reminiscent of all the childhood sweets of her youth. It would be amazing to live through those wonder years again where every festival was brand new world of joys. Perhaps this festival could be a small chance to relive such innocent happiness for a moment. But no any merrymaking would have to wait for at least a little while. Just a little while.

"Mmm. Mmm. Mmm! Great pick in food Syl," said Roxana holding up her hands to caress her own cheeks, "Anyway, let's get to that tower shall we? And no running off. So Sieg. The tower?"

Siegfried chuckled at the small elf's admonishment but he elected to not respond but instead to carry on, "Righty-o lassie. Follow me which way!"

Siegfried marched them through the city's streets with an ever increasing amount of decorations, games, and stalls populating the streets the deeper into the city they went. Sizzling food, cacophonous laughter, and a million myriads of noise sang through the streets and yet there was something hollow about it all. At last they made it to the vicinity of the tower its immense size dwarfing everything else in the city. Like a brilliant amber the light on top shone with a blinding fury. Not quite a fire but it also didn't resemble the light of street lamps. Its luminosity was bizarre in every regard. The building was surrounded by a large brick wall lined metal spikes on top and suspiciously there were no guards. Roxana moved close behind a corner facing the tower as she told her party her plan.

"Let's hop over the back. The front gate being clear is too convenient for my liking. Just walk normally before we bolt it once where in the back wall," she said in hushed whispers.

Like she said she walked down the street before bolting it to the deserted back alley of the tower. In a single breath she grasped to the top ledge of the wall before pulling herself up to do a full flip onto the other side landing perfectly on her feet. A quick look around and there was no one. Siegfried was the next to heave himself over like a fat bear rolling over a log. With her hands she gestured to him to keep watch at the rear of their group before she prowled directly to the back of the tower. The back door was a large rectangular structure made of black wood and its door knob was a striking silver ornament.

"Darn it, the things locked. We could try picking it I suppose," hissed Roxana. Her eyes darted upwards to see that a second story window was halfway open. It did seem like enough room to squeeze herself into, "Unless climbing is an option."

Far far above the ground, a pair of twinkling golden eyes leered at the group unblinking and unwavering in its intensity like golden fireballs in the night. Its stone claws slowly scraped against its roost letting a few grains and pebbles spill below as it hid in the darkness of its crevice.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Noticing Roxana looking up at the open second story window, Frey directed his attention towards it, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "It doesn't look too difficult. I could certainly make my way up there without much issue, though that's not to say everyone would have the same ease doing it, especially our plate-wearing friends." He reasoned. "Perhaps a rope would help, or I could try sneaking in and opening the door from inside? Or maybe-"

While Frey was busy employing all of his roguish knowledge to monologue, Sylanna stared at the door, then looked up at the window, then the door again. She looked back at Mircella, whom he and Frey had had to help clear the wall, and then back to the window, before her eyes settled on the door again.

With a mental shrug, she lifted her foot and kicked it open with a resounding noise.

"Problem solved." The blonde knight said with the faintest ghost of a conceited smile on her face. Behind her, Mircella chuckled at the sight.

"That's one way I suppose." Frey commented as he quickly looked around to see if he could spot any disturbances in the area that could've come as a result of someone noticing the ruckus. It wouldn't do to get discovered before they could even start figuring out things.

"Excuse you, it was a most practical solution." Sylanna replied. "If anything, I'm surprised that you didn't move straight to pick the lock. I figured that sort of skill was well within your area of expertise." The elven woman stated as she walked into the building, using Solskin's power to summon a small flame on the palm of her hand, in order to allow her and her companions to better see inside the building, Mircella following close behind.

"It is, but I wanted to consider every- you know what? Nevermind." Frey conceded as he walked in behind them.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

"Or that...or we can do that," stammered Roxana blinking in surprise at what Syl had just done, "Please no guards for once..."

With the apparent obstacle out of the way the group was free to scamper inside the tower where their hospitality was limited to a dark and empty room. There was even scant signs of furniture in the barren space. However, the stairs on the side of the room presented a series of mud covered tracks leading upstairs. Several in fact. Roxana with her bow drawn rushed to the marks to observe them close. Getting her face inches away from them they sheened slightly in the light pouring in the windows meaning the mud was fresh. She slowly stood back up and drew an arrow from her quiver.

"Seigfried, take point," she ordered as she tilted her head.

"Woe is me, to take the brunt of incoming attack," said Seigfried with a snicker.

"Very funny Mr. Comedian," retorted Roxana rolling her eyes.

With his zweihander in hand Siegfried took the first steps up carefully awaiting ambush among the stairs many turns. With how tall this tower was and thus its large amount of floors Roxana was apprehensive about getting their goal done on time so unfortunately they'd have to stop wherever the tracks did as such was their only lead. The careful creaking up the stairs broke the monotony of the night and so when the muddy tracks took a sharp turn to one of the rooms in the middle it was time for the group to act. Siegfried stepped forth warry for any ambush but for the moment there was none. Roxana followed behind him and it wasn't long before she spotted a helmet emerge from a corner in front of them. She aimed her bow at it as she quickly analyzed that it was a zombified warrior of some kind, most notably due to the missing jaw.

"We got the living dead here!" she said unleashing an arrow into its eye socket staggering it back.

Soon half a dozen more undead, all clad in helmets and chainmail, raised up their weapon and proceeded to charge at the group. Armed with morningstars, hammers, and shields these seemed to be much more then mere corpses. Seigfried swung his sword at the first incoming one but his sword was caught in the spikes of a morningstar and twisted to the ground letting one of the undead to strike him in the chest with its shield. He staggered back and almost fell but Roxana dodged behind him to catch him.

"Are you hurt?" she said in a panic.

"Nay, Lassie. This is only starting!" stated Siegfried steadying himself.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Seeing the threat that had just appeared from the insides of the building, Sylanna quickly withdrew her mastercrafted elven longsword. Foul, abominable undead had seen fit to show their horrid faces in front of her, causing the normally composed elvish knight to glare at them in fury. Already an arrow fired from her fellow purple cloak's bow had driven back one of the attackers, and Siegfried stepped in to try and take another out, only to find his attack rejected by one of the corpses' weapons. It was clear that they were no mere lesser skeletons like she might've faced before, but in fact something mightier, something more cunning and sinister. All the same, it invoked her ire to see the dead walking like this. She would not allow this offense to last.

"Prepare to return whence you came!" She growled at the undead, futile as it may have been to speak to such creatures, and then brought up her palm to the blade of her sword, running it across and using the power of her wisp to light it on fire, causing it to cast light upon the darkened corridor.

Focusing, she tried to draw upon the power of the sun, although she could feel that the strength it bestowed upon her was far lesser than it had been in other occasions. It was dusk when we arrived, was it not? Looks like I will have to rely on myself for this battle... No matter, it will be done.

Advancing towards the undead, she took up a position next to Siegfried to prevent him from being flanked, holding her blade with both hands. A skeleton wielding a hefty warhammer stepped forward, raising its lumbering weapon for a rather obvious overhead strike. Nearly scoffing at the attack, Sylanna promptly sidestepped and then swung her blade forward for a horizontal slash. Much to her surprise, however, the skeleton quickly maneuvered the shaft of its hammer to press down on her blade, deflecting the tip of it towards the ground. Scowling, the blonde knight pulled back her sword and then stomped on the hammer's wooden shaft before swinging vertically this time in an overhead slash, cutting across the middle and perfectly splitting the creature's helmet and skull alike in half, although the sword got caught in the skeleton's chainmail shirt halfway through the ribcage, causing her to angrily pull it out.

Still, her efforts were sufficient, and she watched as the skeleton crumpled to the ground, now lacking its skull and likewise unable to sustain its arms. Their armor was quite the hassle to cleave through for her right now, but... perhaps it didn't need to be so. Cooling her head for a moment to think things through, she briefly smirked to herself as she doused the flames around her sword and sheathed it, instead grabbing the skeleton's warhammer.

"Let's see you block this, abomination!" She shouted at the next one in line, aiming to crush it against the wall with all of her strength.

Meanwhile, hanging behind the frontlines was Mircella, who watched the events unfold with keen eyes. Glancing over at the rogue, who seemed to be deciding whether to do his usual opening move of a lightning salvo or save that for later and engage with his twin butterfly swords, she called out to him. "Mister Farwind, stick by me, will you? I think I could be a lot more helpful to the party if someone is around to keep foes at bay."

Glancing back, Frey nodded at the priestess, drawing his twin blades and holding them in a defensive position as he stood in front of her. "I can do that."

Smiling, Mircella closed her eyes to focus, holding her ceremonial alder staff in front of her as she began speaking ancient words of power, the world seeming to grow even darker around her as she channeled the powers of the Lord Under the Vale to do her bidding in the material world.

Suddenly, out of the shadows surrounding the skeletons, black tentacles with purple glowing scars running across them manifested and reached out to grasp two of the undead, holding them in place against their will - whether it was truly theirs or the will of whatever foul power was animating them - in order to both prevent them from lashing out at the priestess' teammates, and to allow them to strike at the skeletons more easily.

"Roxana, there's some easy targets for you." She called out to the high elf. Currently, only one skeleton had gone down, leaving six left.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

"Got it Mir!" shouted back Roxana as she pulled on her bow's string, "Flock Arrow!"

Her wisp's energy covered the arrow as soon as it was let loose in a brilliant fury of green energy. The hail of arrows flew at the corpse knights pinned by Mircella's summoned shadows in a brilliant display. The arrows' ethereal energy pierced their rusted chainmail and burned away at their rotted husks beneath. The now pincushioned knights where now in shambles as they could barely struggle against the dark shadow tentacles ensnaring them.

"Sieg, finished them off!" commanded Roxana as she loaded another arrow.

"In a bloody minute, dear!" responded as he raised up his shield to block repeated blows by the mace wielding knight, "Bloody bugger keeps having a toil at me."

Another arrow shot past his head and into the elbow of the corpse knight as it raised its weapon once again. Apparently locked in place, Siegfried took the opportunity to smack his shield against the knight's face with his immense strength spinning the enemy towards the two entrapped knights knocking them over. It slowly got back to its feet standing over its brethren but it was soon backed up by a hammer wielding knight who lunged at Siegfried as the morningstar knight snapped the arrow out of its elbow. Seigfried deflected it with his shield and parried back with his zweihander piercing the knight's chest who seemingly ignored it as it kept crawling closer to strike him. The other smashed its morningstar onto his helm denting it and staggering Seig before Roxana fired more two more arrows at the knight's dried up eye sockets. Sieg withdrew his zweihander from the hammer knight's chest and barely managed to use the face of the blade to block a hammer blow to the neck.

"These damn things won't go down!" she pleaded firing another at its throat, "Sieg! Line both of them up for my Ballista Arrow while I charge it!"

"Will do lassy! But easier said then done!" as he was now forced to used both shield and sword to block simultaneous attacks from the two knights in a fury of exchanges.

Meanwhile the knight Syl had attacked with its now destroyed brethren's hammer used its twin maces to somewhat block the attack but the force was still enough to embed into the wall. Its jaw rattled with a shrill cry as porous green slime drooled from its mouth which it flicked its head to spew it at Syl's eyes. Using the opportunity another knight came to swing its hammer at her calves. With two attacking Seig and another two on Syl, the last two knights perforated by Roxana's arrows staggered back up and made a mad dash past both of them to rush at Frey.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"Should I be worried?" Frey inquired as he saw the two battered corpse knights making a final charge against him, likely in order to get through to the person to blame for their binding and subsequent skewering, Mircella. He was already thinking of how to best take care of them taking into account what he had learned from seeing Siegfried and Sylanna do battle against them, but a voice behind him promptly suggested otherwise.

"No, not at all. I can handle this." The shadow priestess spoke softly before once more weaving together a spell to channel the power of the Voice in the Dark. The entire world around her seemed to blacken as she focused, the glowing ruby eyes of her staff appearing to drink in all nearby light.

"Step aside, if you please." She called out to Frey, who promptly complied, even as the two corpse knights grew closer and closer - he only hoped that this wasn't a mistake. Fortunately, his suspicions soon proved unnecessary as he watched Mircella point the tip of her staff in the direction of the skeletons. Suddenly, a wave of force was released from it, a wall of darkness that violently tossed the skeletal knights aside with enough force that their bones shattered even inside of the armor they wore. Their weapons clattered harmlessly against the wall as loose armor and bone dust fell to the ground.

"Interesting." The rogue commented as he watched the display. "It sure feels good not to have to make up for others in a mission for once."

"Bold of you to say that during a combat in which you haven't done much, Mister Farwind." Mircella quipped as she set her staff down on the ground, using it to support some of her weight. She was slightly winded after the spell, but it was nothing that wouldn't get better after a moment.

Further ahead in the hallway, Sylanna scowled. She had been hoping that her blow would be sufficient to simply crush the skeleton inside of its armor, turning the bones into powder and leaving the rest to rot. Clearly, things weren't going to be quite as easy. The walking crime against nature had managed to somewhat soften the blow with its own weapons, sparing itself from the fate of pulverization. What's more, it seemed to have more tricks under its sleeve, secreting a green mucosity that it then flung towards her. Reacting swiftly, she released one hand from the shaft of her borrowed warhammer, bringing up her buckler to block the rather unsettling substance, which clung to it after colliding with the round shield.

"Ugh..." Sylanna muttered, disgusted. With her eyes unimpeded, however, she promptly noticed the second skeleton that approached her, attempting to swing its hammer at her legs. Clicking her tongue, Sylanna promptly jumped to avoid the attack, lifting up her legs to give her some extra height. Then, she brought up her hammer and, with a bellowing battle cry, swung it in an overhead arc with both hands, the head of the hammer scraping against the polished wooden ceiling and tearing off pieces of it before being brought down upon the corpse knight, which was completely shattered by the sheer force of the impact, leaving behind only a dented helmet and a folded chainmail shirt, the hammer it previously wielded falling to the ground limply.

But she wasn't done yet. Dropping her borrowed weapon, she walked towards the skeleton that was embedded on the wall, deftly tearing its twin maces from its dead hands. Her gauntlet suddenly caught fire as she reared it back before slamming it straight into the undead creature's skull, completely shattering it and leaving an even bigger hole on the wall. Its helmet hit the floor with a loud metallic noise and the rest soon followed suit.

Taking a deep breath, the elven knight doused her gauntlet and then turned around, a hand going straight to the hilt of her elven longsword. If after this any of their undead enemies remained, then she would see to it that they were promptly destroyed.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

"Blasted corpses!" shouted Siegfried as he parried blow after blow from the two knights assaulting him.

Roxana took the opportunity to roll forwards and get on a knee on level with the corpse knights' legs. She drew her bow and engorged the notched arrow with wind all around it before letting it loose. The arrow burst through their knees toppling them onto their chests. Siegfried did not let the opportunity perish as he hopped forward and stomped on their heads crushing metal and desiccated skulls beneath his might. At last the first obstacle was over.

"First the wolves and vultures at the mansion. Now some corpse knights. This is definitely a high level necromancer," panted Roxana as she struggled to get up, "Is everyone alright?"

"Fit as a fiddle dear... if a little sore round the shoulder right bout," said Siegfried rotating his shoulders.

With everyone accounted for the group once again made their way to the top of the tower. The dirt ridden tracks continued upwards opposite of the knights' tracks so they must have been descending recently. The group arrived at the penultimate floor of the tower and it was a wide open expanse. Not a single room or wall separated the floor and instead it was a vast sea of marron with the windows punctuating the perimeter like blue shields. The only other noticeable feature was the final flight of stairs at the far end leading to the rooftop. It was an obsidian colored door and stairs and next to the door where two ornate silver pillars, clearly not belonging there as dirt was scattered all around their bases, exchanging crackling arcs of electricity between each other blocking the door completely.

Roxana got a small honeyed oat bar from her bag and gently tossed it at the fizzling barrier. It immediately scorched by the electricity into a smoky black clump of char as it was repelled back to her feet.

"Damn bastards. Well I suppose we can just break through the ceiling but I'm not too keen on someone being so vulnerable as they get up without knowing what's up there. Well unless Sieg here wants to be the test dummy," she playfully jeered at the man.

"Good joke lassy," said Siegfried, "I propose we climb up through one of the windows! We'll tie up curtains from the lower floors onto my zweihander and use it like a hook once I lob it up! I was the shot put champion of my town for fiver years in a row after all."

"I don't think that would go nearly as well as you'd hope..." grumbled Roxana rubbing her nose bridge in frustration.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Sylanna let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as she noticed, after turning, that the rest of the corpse knights had been adequately taken care of, and that everyone seemed fairly unscathed, feeling especially relieved that Roxana hadn't received any injuries during that fight. As the High Elf asked about everyone's status, the blonde knight spoke up. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you for asking." She said as she relaxed a little, loosening the grip she had on the hilt of her longsword. She was about to say more, but the words remained caught in her throat as she watched Roxana and the gold-cloak Siegfried hastily carry on through the mysterious tower, headed straight to the top floor. I'm glad you're alright as well.

"Come on, Lady Sundancer. We don't want to get left behind." Mircella told the Snow Elf as she stopped next to her, gesturing to Frey, who had quickly moved ahead to catch up with Roxana and Siegfried, leaving the two women at the rear. Sylanna nodded and the two moved to catch up with the others.

As they arrived, the group immediately noticed the obsidian pillars and the crackling arcs of electricity between them which seemed to bar entry to the very top of the tower. A quick demonstration by Roxana left it clear that attempting to simply walk through was unwise, leaving the group to try to figure out an alternative. As the High Elf and the gold-cloak discussed various possibilities, Sylanna placed a hand on her chin, looking intently at the pillars. Mountain glass was known for its sharpness and its aesthetic value, but not for its sturdiness, and a plan quickly began to form in the elven knight's head.

"I think I have an idea." She said, before excusing herself from the room and retracing her footsteps.

Only to return running at full speed with one of the discarded warhammers in her hands, which she hurled with all of her strength at one of the pillars.

It was worth a shot.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

The warhammer thrown by Sylanna had enough force in it to completely dent the second silver pillar over like a hook letting the other pillar's electricity spew out out of control to the other side for an instant before dissipating into nothing. At last the path to the rooftop was clear of hurdles. At least clear ones.

"Wow," was all Roxana could say wide eyed.

"Excellent lassy!" shouted Siegfried as he began marching to the now clear staircase, "One last march and away!"

As Siegfried bounded to the door Roxana stopped for a bit to pat Syl on the arm and a quick smile, "Sure got a good arm there Syl. You'd make a great bowman if I had you to myself for a month of training. Come on, we'll have to get to the bottom of this festival sooner or later."

Once the group had made it to the stair case and door the sight on the other side was a completely bizarre one. At the center of the tower's rooftop floor was a large glowing mass of amorphous orange and yellow light pulsating out tendrils into the city that quickly evaporated into nothing. Only a scant few inches where between the orb and the tower's metal dome and at least a person and a half's height between the floor and the glowing ball. This lighthouse's internal structure had been scrapped bare to make room for the oddity and just below it where a pair of strange figures. One clad in red robes and channeling energy from a grimoire into the sphere, a masked mage with purple ethereal bindings leading from his hands to a group of five corpse knights, and behind them a giant monstrous knight, being the red figure's height while on all fours, with a freezing freezing aura around him and a sword of pure ice.

"Ho, ho, oh! Look what we have here," boasted Siegfried knocking his zweihander onto his shoulder thrice, "Two book worms and a big ol meanie here? I say chaps this got quite interesting."

"This looks bad yes but let's at least try to talk. I don't want to get into a misunderstanding," said Roxana tugging onto this arm.

Suddenly a bolt of crimson energy flashed past her hair singing a bit of her bangs and scorching the door frame behind her causing her to yelp in surprise.

"I knew that merchant swindled you into buying worthless trinkets Alaric!" screeched the red robbed one in his slithery and withered voice.

"He was quite convincing. 'Only the most cruel and deadliest artefacts' he said," said the skull-masked man as he conjured more energy into his corpse knights as he waved his hands to let the corpse knights rush at the group, "I'd have bought more if you had given me a bigger share but alas..."

"Stunty silent," growled the giant silver knight as it crawled towards the group like a wild dog trailing a path of ice behind him, "Or Gunther kill you too."

The giant silver knight in a surprising spectacle of agility leaped forward, bounding over the corpse knights, to slam his icy sword in between the group unleashing a shower of blue crisp ice to split them up. Siegfried was quick to react and slammed his sword down at the knight's back buckling his knees. The knight growled a wolf like howl and back hand slapped Siegfried like a tumbleweed into one of the dome's four supporting pillars. Roxana was caught by the ice blast and was thrown to her rear only barely managing to shoot a wind induced arrow into the eye socket of an incoming corpse knight as it raised its mace at her. The undead stumbled back before Roxana sideswiped its legs with a swift sweep of her leg. With only moments until it got back up Roxana only had less time to think what to have the group do next.

"Everyone! Get back togethers its our only chance!" she shouted in desperation.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

The Snow Elf watched in amazement as her gambit, more an improvised effort than a well thought out plan, ultimately paid off, wrecking one of the obsidian pillars barring their progress and thus ridding the group of the next obstacle as the thundering ward collapsed. Her reaction was more or less the same as Roxana's, albeit silent, but as Siegfried complimented her, the elvish knight's stoicism quickly relented, a sheepish grin forming on her face.

"Oh, it was nothing, really." She said, at once glad to be acknowledged by a superior and embarrassed by the fact. A different facet of the righteous and calm purple-cloaked powerhouse that most of the rest of the group was familiar with, to be sure. As the gold-cloak walked past, Roxana stopped next to her, smiling and giving her a pat on the arm while commenting about the potential for archery she had and how it might be refined if they had some time to train together. The idea of spending her time that way wasn't unappealing, and after a brief moment of consideration, Sylanna nodded.

"If you're offering, I wouldn't mind trying that out sometime." She said with what she hoped would come across as a more confident smile than before.

With that, the group made its way up the stairs, past the obsidian pillars and into the very top of the tower, where they were met with the sight of a strange and unnatural light and three mysterious figures that appeared to be responsible for it. Already the sight of the undead was enough to put Sylanna on high alert, but the sight of a light so twisted made her feel just as much revulsion. These three were clearly to blame for the strangeness about the festival and all the trials they had faced in ascending the lighthouse, and wasted no time in attacking. As if it wasn't enough to see her friend nearly struck by a bolt of flame, the group was then separated by a blast of ice, Siegfried and Roxana both facing off against the enemy.

After dodging the blast of ice by swiftly rolling to the side, Sylanna wasted no time in heeding Roxana's words and regrouping. With the same warhammer that she had used to destroy the obsidian pillar, which she had picked up again on the way out, the blonde knight swung at the corpse knight next to Roxana, which was just getting up again. "Don't have to tell me twice!" She spoke up as she sent the undead warrior flying.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Mircella asked as she reached Roxana's side. The white-haired priestess had found herself thrown away by the blast of ice much like the High Elf had, nearly falling off the tower if it hadn't been for Frey's hand grabbing her before she slid off the roof of the lighthouse. Thanks to the prompt assistance though, she had managed to quickly stand back up and join the others.

"I have one, but I make no promises that it'll work." The former pirate stated as he pulled out his estoc and pointed it straight at the grimoire being held up by the figure clad in red. Energy gathered at the tip of the weapon before letting loose a fierce bolt of lightning.

[Absolon-7]

----

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

A pulsating plume of flame ballooned out of the grimoire once Frey's lightning bolt struck it like a pin, engulfing the red masked figure in its film like an all encompassing curtain before it flashed out in a fiery explosion. The shockwave was like a rock thrown into a puddle sending ripples across the roof and obliterating the dome's pillars and sending everyone flying out like embers. Seigfried was launched out first and crashed into the roof neighboring building sliding down and dislodging several roof tiles before catching himself on the edge. The bestial knight Gunther was far behind as his mass crashed onto the roof above him and likewise began sliding down as he tried to gain a footing. Seeing an opportunity Seigfried flipped his zweihander and swung it around so its pommel guard would catch the frost-ladden knight by the temple and launch him into the street below.

"How's dem apples you big icy cripple!" shouted Siegfried not realizing his mockery made him lean too close to the edge. He waved his arms wildly in a futile effort before he fell off landing with a thud belly first into a patio below. His thud caused some potted plants to fall over onto him covering him with their dirt and flora, "Oh that's quite smart..."

Meanwhile Roxana yelped in surprise as the shockwave launched her away as well but thankfully she summoned out her wisp in time to let it unleash a gale of wind below her feet. This maneuver made her bounce off an adjoining rooftop scattering material around her before backflipping onto the roof's edge. She looked up to see that the purple mage was flailing uncontrollably in the air before he was saved by one of his zombie-vultures that clasped onto his shoulders.

"Ha! I knew saving one of you would be worth it!," shouted Alaric triumphantly as one of the corpse-knights' heads arc over to him conveniently landing in his palm. He looked at the skull gnashing its teeth and then at the winded Roxana and back at the skull. Contemplating his next move he directed his vulture to move in her direction, "Hot potato!"

The mage threw the head at her engulfing it in purple energy causing it to morph a larger and more robust fanged jaw and its rotten ears transforming into wings. Its hollow eye sockets glowed a brilliant violet as it hurtled towards her exposed neck.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Out of the plume of smoke that had fully engulfed the top of the lighthouse, Frey could be seen with the priestess of the Laughing Wolf in arms, having grabbed her and jumped off the rooftop just in time to avoid being hit with the brunt of the explosion. Covering quite a lot of distance, he managed to land on his feet on a nearby rooftop, just barely keeping his balance as he slowed down to a halt after a difficult landing. Coming to a stop, he let out a sigh of relief and then turned to assess the situation. One of the mages was nowhere to be seen, but the other two villains were already busy fighting again.

"At least our friends don't seem to be hurt." Frey commented. Mircella nodded, scanning the area. Her attention seemed to fix on the one called Gunther.

"Indeed, I'm quite glad your gambit didn't backfire too badly." She replied with the sweetest voice, a smile on her face as she poked fun at the dashing rogue, before pointing her staff towards the bestial knight. "Can you get me closer to that gentleman? We should help mister Godwinson deal with him."

"You... want me to continue carrying you?" He questioned her, a little incredulous. Normally he wouldn't mind the close contact with a pretty lady, but this was hardly the right context. Alas, she was already chanting a spell and didn't seem to acknowledge his question. "...Alright then."

Backing up a little and then jumping towards the next rooftop over with a running start, Frey positioned himself just above a dormer overlooking the street where a small crater surrounded Gunther's landing spot. As Mircella's spell was completed, blades of inky, shifting corporeal darkness suddenly materialized in the air above where the frost warrior had landed and began to rain down upon the villain with deadly haste.

Elsewhere, a figure clad in shining steel launched out from the top of the tower. Unharmed by the flames of the explosion, Sylanna nonetheless was caught off guard and ejected violently, with little she could do other than hold on to her borrowed weapon as she flew through the air, crashing into the top of a nearby belfry shortly afterwards. Lying there for a moment, she picked herself up with a loud groan, rolling her shoulders a bit and dusting herself off. It was much more of a rough landing than she would have preferred, naturally, but this was nothing she couldn't handle.

More importantly, where is everybody? She thought as she looked around. It wasn't hard to spot Frey and Mircella moving towards the fallen bestial knight, with Siegfried lying nearby. As she turned to look at Roxana however, she noticed what was headed her way and her eyes went open wide.

"Look out!" She shouted as she kicked off of the damaged belfry with all of her strength, darting towards Roxana in hopes of intercepting the wicked skull. As she neared, she gripped her borrowed warhammer with both hands and prepared to swing. Then, just as she came within range of the monstrous animated skull, she let it loose. "Back whence you came!" She shouted as the skull was sent hurtling back to its sender - the swing had been more precise than Sylanna had anticipated and clocked the undead vulture in the head, causing both it and its rider to plummet towards the ground.

The elf knight herself, meanwhile, landed on her side and slid across the rooftop, sending tiles and thatch flying everywhere until eventually coming to a stop. With another groan, she got up in time to see the results of her work and let out a whistle, twirling the heavy warhammer in one hand.

"That wasn't too bad. Maybe I should commission one of these when we get back to Velathri." She mused, before turning to Roxana with a smile on her face. "What do you think?" She asked, oblivious to the fact that one of the few remaining corpse knights was sneaking up on her.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

"I think: Watch out!" exclaimed Roxana unleashing an arrow, its fletching whistling in the air as it shot past Syl, into the eye socket of the corpse knight, staggering it.

The zombie began to stumble and fell over on its side almost rolling off completely and stopped itself by hitting a dormer's edge. As the undead struggled to get up Roxana went over to Syl and grabbed her by the arm, "Come on let's hurry up and regroup to the others. Its too dangerous to be up here...and for the record you do look cool with a warhammer."

"Oh you two think you're so cool!" shouted a distant voice which revealed itself to be that of the mage Alaric quite goofily carried by the shoulders and the ankles by now two undead condors, "Rule number two my master always taught me: Always have a spare."

"I don't care!," bluntly stated Roxana shooting three arrows in succession at the masked mage.

"Eeeeek!" shrieked Alaric as his vultures swiveled wildly to avoid the arrow with one taking it in the neck, "You'll pay for that! Get them!"

The other two remaining corpse knights hopped onto the opposite ends of the roof the two women where stranded in brandishing their claymore and sword respectively. The last one now standing steadily raised its mace and began lunging for the two. Its mace grazed the tiles near Roxana's feet and she instinctively shot and arrow at its arm pinning it to the roof. Meanwhile the other two began closing in them from both sides perfectly in tuned with the footsteps of the other.

Meanwhile as the summoned bolts came shooting down at Gunther the animalistic knight snapped his eyes open and with a deafening roar a hazy aura of ice encased him and bloated out blocking the shadow bolts. With inhumane grunts he leaped upwards and stabbed his sword into the second story wall to steady himself before jabbing his fingers to a spot above him. Now like a crazed beast he lumbered up baying for the blood of Frey and Mir as a trail of ice and debris fell below him with each hop upwards.

Siegfried meanwhile was slowly recuperating by leaning on the balcony's guard rail his slow breath showing signs of his pained chest. This certainly wasn't a state he appreciated himself being in. He'd had serious scuffled before but maybe just this once he overestimated himself.

"Regardless, I must carry on for my friends!," shouted Siegfried raising his zweihander, "Tally ho!"

With a shout he began climbing upwards for his next move against the frost knight.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Hearing Roxana's words and seeing her swiftly nock and release an arrow in her general direction, the elven knight quickly switched gears and jumped off to the side, watching as the arrow struck the approaching corpse knight in its eye socket. Before she could follow up with an attack of her own, Roxana reached her side and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from their foe as she suggested to regroup with the others. Sylanna couldn't hold back a small smile at the compliment that followed, but it was quickly wiped from her face as the necromancer Alaric taunted them, held aloft by more of his undead creations. Roxana didn't waste any time in making an attack, and the retaliation was swift - the pair were now surrounded by no less than three corpse knights, wielding blade, mace and claymore as they approached menacingly. The blonde elf glared at all of them - aberrations, every last one.

"You will soon be put to rest. This much I can promise."

Without wasting any time, Sylanna turned on her heel to throw her warhammer at the undead swordsman with all of her might, before turning back. Roxana had already pinned the mace-wielding corpse knight to the rooftop, which meant that the only threat remaining was the claymore knight. Rushing towards it at full speed, Sylanna unsheathed her longsword and quickly swatted aside the corpse knight's weapon with a horizontal slash, using her leftover momentum to spin around and do exactly the same thing again - only this time around, with the claymore still off to the side, she cut directly through the corpse knight's torso, rending his legs from the rest of his body. She wasn't done yet, however. Rather than let it fall to the ground, she cut vertically through the center of its upper half, and then took a hand off the hilt of her weapon to point her palm at what remained of the undead creature.

"Solskin!" She called forth her wisp, which manifested in front of her palm, a light floating ball of white light which suddenly released a burst of pale flames at the corpse knight, sending burnt scraps of flesh and tarnished shards of bone flying everywhere.

Elsewhere, Mircella was surprised to see how easily the frost knight had managed to block her spell, but that quickly turned into the least of her worries as she noticed him get up and begin to climb after them in a frenzy. It was a scary sight for sure, but a lady such as herself was to hold her composure at all times, and so rather than let emotion - fear in this case - take over, she looked up to Frey.

"Mister Farwind, I think it would be best to get away from that thing as fast as possible." She stated.

"Easy for you to say." Frey replied with a scowl, but complied, running to the edge of the platform and jumping to the next rooftop over in order to start putting some distance between himself and Mircella, and Gunther. "Tell me, do you always let men do all of the movement?"

"You'd love to find out, wouldn't you?" The priestess replied without missing a beat. The pair were distracted, however, by a rumble that shook through the house they were standing on, and Frey looked behind him to see that the frost knight had leaped from one wall to another, sticking his oversized sword into the brickwork for leverage before resuming his mad chase. Cursing, Frey began running once more, an idea popping into his head.

"Mircella, grab my estoc." He told her.

"That is a lot more overt than your previous comment. I'm not sure I appreciate it." She replied.

"What? No, I mean it! Grab it and point it at that guy!" He spoke. Realizing what he meant, Mircella complied and unsheathed the weapon, pointing it at Gunther. All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning shot forth from it, striking the rooftop in front of Gunther and causing a cloud of smoke, debris and dust to rise up. Taking advantage of the distraction, Frey used his shadowy boon to turn himself and Mircella invisible before dropping to the streets and running behind the tower where all of this had begun - with any luck, Gunther wouldn't think to chase them back there.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

The smoke and debris made Gunther stop in his tracks plunging his icy sword into the roof to bring himself to an abrupt stop. His glowing blue eyes scanned the black for sign of his prey but the smog made it pointless. Gunther crawled forward weary for some sort of trap but none came as he stepped out of the smoke. He began bending his legs to leap at the ground but stopped as he realized they had escaped. A low hummed growl came from him as he contemplated his next move.

"Might I interest you in a challenge foul beast," boasted an overly enthusiastic voice behind him. Siegfried had barely arrived and pointed his zweihander at Gunther egging him to fight him.

"No," bluntly stated Gunther as he flicked out his sword at Siegfried sending a hail of icy chunks at the warrior.

Siegfried parried the chunks of ice sending them all across him with the sound of ice scraping steel perforating the air. With the opening Gunther leaped at him with his great sword being stopped by the guard on Seigfried's zweihander. The icy weapon dented into the sword bringing itself dangerously close to Siegfried's head. With a final struggle between the two Gunther snapped the zweihander in two and began a riposte into Seigfried's chest but the man stopped the blow by clenching the giant knight's wrist. With his immense strength Siegfried launched Gunther into the air with a twist dragging tiles and ice after them. Now freeflying in the air Gunther landed on a roof opposite of the street on all fours. He raised his sword for another ice attack but his head suddenly shot down towards the tower.

"Master Attila calls Gunther," he grunted. Without another word Gunther began leaped to the street below as if he had forgotten Siegfried and the others completely.

"That's right you filthy coward!" shouted Siegfried, "Go run! Go run...oh deary...."

Siegfried suddenly found himself incredibly dizzy and began his slow descent into the street below.

Seeing his last remaining corpse knights destroyed Alaric began panicking plucking at his hood and patting his entire body down in search of anything that could kill these nuisances. He suddenly jerked his head towards the tower and gulped in fear. Now calmer he jabbed his hands into his coat's inner pockets and finally felt something.

"Ah ha! Eureka!" he shouted as he directed the undead vultures to get him closer, quite precariously close in fact to the two women, "Have this! Undead tarantulas!"

With eerie precision the two tarantulas thrown shot forward right at Sylana's head but a scraping of metal on stone pavement caught Roxana's attention to the street's below. Roxana spotted Gunther going after a peculiar piece of debris on the street that had remained intact yet its insides had been strewn out just in front of it which appeared to be some hand sized wooden box. Roxana bit her lip before she leaped off the building and summoned a gust of wind from her wisp that broke her free fall into a roll. Next with her boon speeding up her limbs she dashed towards the box collapsing herself and sliding right at it to scoop the box out of Gunther's grasp. He raised his hand to crush her into pulp but the sudden smack of a thrown sword pommel right into his open eye made him rear back in pain skittering away from Roxana.

"I'll crush you if you lay a hand on her you foul cretin!" shouted Siegfried in righteous anger as his mass came barreling down the street and stopped right next to Roxana.

"Hey you big barbarian! Didn't you hear bossman's orders in your head!" shouted Alaric, suddenly swooping in from the sky, at Gunther, "Let's get him and retreat! We can just kill them when we're better prepared!"

The shadowy Alaric then had his vultures fly him higher into the tower itself meanwhile Gunther gave one last look at Roxana's face huffing out an icy cold breath. Between the choice of coming to his master's aid and prolonging the fight Gunther grunted in annoyance and began vaulting himself towards the tower. Now the two friends where alone Siegfried collapsed back first onto the floor in complete exhaustion huffing out pained breaths.

"Everything hurts..." he quietly said in between breaths.

Roxana panting brought the box she had scooped up to her chest not noticing how much her arms where shaking, "You'll be alright. You're always alright..."

Wearily she popped open the box and within it was a shiny metal tablet that perfectly matched the notches in the wizard's mysterious doorway; in short they had gotten exactly what they came for, "Well at least we got a leg up from those creeps..."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Watching the sorcerer's petty last ditch attempt to spite her, Sylanna simply glared at him as she pointed her hand, still inhabited by her fiery white wisp, palm-first towards the incoming bone tarantulas. As they approached, another burst of pale cleansing flames erupted from the elven knight's hand, turning the wicked undead spiders into nothing but bone dust and splinters. After only an instant, those remains were gone, scattered to the winds.

The blonde warrior looked around the battlefield, eyes burning with anger scanning the landscape for any remaining undead threats to take care of. But there were none that she could see. No more foes to contend with, either - the terrible trio that they had run into at that tower was making a hasty retreat, and all of their monstrous servants had already vanished. All that was left to see nearby were the signs of combat strewn all around her - craters upon the cobblestone road, shattered tiles lining the street, and all sort of rubble lying nearby. Not far from her, Siegfried lay on the ground, resting after the arduous battle, while Roxana stood a few paces away from him, her arms shaking as she held what it seemed the villains were after.

Sighing, Sylanna sheathed her sword and took a step towards them. And almost immediately, the world around her began to spin. Stumbling forward, she planted her foot on the ground to try and stabilize herself, confused, although only for a moment. She had been using her wisp's power rather liberally for much of the night, it was certainly not unreasonable that it began to take a toll on her, especially when the rush of battle began to subside.

Stumbling over to where Roxana and Siegfried were, the elven knight unceremoniously plopped down on the ground, letting out another sigh as she clutched at her head with one hand. "Stupid undead, I hate them..." She muttered angrily under her breath, before looking around. "Oh, is everyone alright? Did those knaves hurt you?" She asked, her expression softening as she looked at Roxana in particular, concern evident in her voice.

A few moments later, Mircella came walking out of a nearby alley, looking no worse for wear. "Who were those creeps, anyway?" She asked as Frey walked up behind her, seemingly busy checking on one of his birds, which had remained out of sight during the battle.

[Absolon-7]

---

Roxana Ma'gonid

---

"I don't know who but they meant business...we only got lightly because they weren't expecting us," panted Roxana placing the metal tablet back into the box, "Let's just cherish this win..."

"Alright I think I'm feeling a wee bit better," muttered Siegfried as he rolled himself up to sit cross-legged, "I don't know if yourselves are up for it but I fancy myself a visit to one of these festival food stalls. Famished is an understatement."

"You recovered freakishly quickly....Well I've say we've earned it for tonight," sighed Roxana getting back up on her feet, "Plus I still need to investigate how this festival came to be. Need to ask around for tomorrow."

Roxana turned to offer her hand to Syl to help her up, "Come, we can take our time getting some grub."

From there the group would go to one of the stands to order food with the seller coming out of the citywide spell confused but happy to earn some business for the night. All around the city the previous mental fog ensnaring the populace would be lifted creating a rattle of confusion and mutterings, however those that didn't hurry home in a panic where keen on enjoying the surprise festival for one last night. The adventuring group themselves would finish of the night enjoying their earned meal in the warm glow of the festivals lanterns.

After a day of rest, the time for the next location's search would come. Roxana's examination of the map showed her that the last spot not marked was on the far south of the continent and instead of a sketch of a tower it was instead a pit with its jagged outline forming some sort of maw. She had no idea what this could be but they could ask in their next stop at the Legion's southern headquarters. After the group used Piketown's HQ to teleport to the south Roxana tried asking around if anyone had heard of such a landmark but it was a futile task.

After failing from getting any information from the latest group to come into the HQ's tavern she plopped herself onto the group's table face down in humiliating defeat, "That's the eighteenth group I've asked these past three days... Any luck from you guys? You'd think some giant hole in the ground would garner more attention."

"None from me, lassie," said Siegfried trying to figure out how to eat a kebab, "But I finally got some dirt on those hooligans we fought. Well somewhat dirt. More like some few balls of lint. Anyhow, in the west one of the largest cathedrals in the region was left ransacked in ice on a day anyone can barely remember. In the north, horde of zombies pillaged a museum while similarly there was a festival going on. Sound like anyone we know, hmmmmm?"

"Looks like we got to Piketown just in time then," muttered Roxana tilting her face up leading to her cheek squishing against the table.

"Indeed so lassie. Well have to act pre-emptively this time," finishing off the meat on the kebab, "Say have you tried the food around here? Its absolutely ravishing!"

"Yeah whatever," said Roxana not moving at all, "Maybe the others will have had some luck."